The Very Thought of You (12 page)

Miranda's expression and attitude told him that she didn't care about his bank account, his house and his social status. He could drive an eighteen wheeler and she'd still care for him.

And so he shrugged before answering Kelly's question. “Dinner, movies, Atlanta. Maybe an overnight trip.”

“Do I get to come?”

“Sometimes. There could be other occasions that only grown-ups are allowed.”

She tapped her finger against her cheek and he smiled as she seemed to think hard. “I like bowling, Putt-Putt and go-karts,” she announced.

Relieved beyond belief, Caleb laughed. “I'll check my schedule.”

 

“She's exhausted,” Miranda commented later on as Caleb came to a stop in her parents' driveway.

“I can carry her inside.”

“All right,” Miranda murmured, checking to make sure she had all their things. “Give me a minute to unlock the door and turn on the lights.”

She hopped out of the SUV and made her way to the front door. Before her hand pulled the keys out of her purse, the porch lights flickered on and the door swung open. Momentarily blinded by the light, she blinked.

“About time you decided to come home.”

“Were you worried that Caleb had kidnapped us?” she teased before waving toward his SUV.

“No,” her brother grumbled before he turned around and made slow progress toward his bedroom.

The teasing smile disappeared from her lips as she realized that he'd truly been worried. With her brow furrowed, Miranda looked toward the grandfather clock and inhaled with surprise. It was after eleven o' clock.

“Everything okay?”

Miranda jumped at the sound of Caleb's voice beside her. “Fine. I'll show you to her room.”

“I can find my way.”

“Right.” Miranda remembered that Caleb had been in their house just as much as she had.

She moved into the living room and sat on the couch. Closing her eyes, she slipped off her shoes and sighed aloud. She reopened her eyes when she felt the couch shift next to her.

“I think I convinced her to stay awake long enough to change into her pajamas.”

“I had fun tonight.”

“I'd like to have fun with you every night.”

Looking away from his hypnotic gaze, Miranda impulsively asked, “What's the craziest thing you've ever done?”

“Does volunteering to work the late shift in the hospital trauma unit count?”

Miranda shook her head. “Try again.”

He put his hands behind his head. “I went skydiving with a group of guys from school.”

“Serious?”

He nodded.

“Did you do it in graduate school?”

“No, I did it about a year ago.”

“What made you decide to risk your life jumping out of a perfectly good plane?”

“During my residency, I was assigned to the cancer center. I became friends with one of the patients on the floor. He was a young man named David Sutton, but he couldn't have been older than twenty-five. I only knew him for three months before he died.”

“How did he die?”

“He had an inoperable brain tumor. You would never have guessed it from the stories he told. David had been around the world and sailed down the Nile River. He showed me pictures of his climb up Mount Kilimanjaro. He swam with the dolphins, ran with the bulls and skydived off the cape of Johannesburg among other things.”

“And that made you want to skydive?”

“It was his words before he died. He asked me to remember the story of his life, not his death. He was the first patient I had ever truly known to die in my care.”

“That must have hurt.” Miranda's voice softened with sympathy.

“As a doctor you're supposed to be able to deal with the knowledge that someone might not make it. After David's death, I didn't see life around me anymore. All I could see was sickness and death. I wanted to feel alive again. Knowing that I was going through a rough patch, my older brother dared me to jump.”

“How did it feel?” she asked, fascinated by the thought of jumping out of a plane.

“Incredibly terrifying and spiritual. I was flying or falling, depending on your point of view. But it answered a lingering question and erased my doubts. I know one thing for sure—you can't jump out of a plane nine thousand feet in the air without faith. Stepping out of that plane was my leap of faith. I learned to trust in God again. I remembered what it felt like to love life.”

“That's wonderful, Caleb,” Miranda commented.

“I hear a ‘but,'” he added.

“There have to be better ways to feel alive than risking your life.”

“You're right. Being with you is a lot safer.”

Bathed in the soft glow of the lamp, they stared at one another. Mesmerized, she watched as he reached over and placed his fingers on either side of her face…and he kissed her. His lips touched hers lightly, as though asking permission, and then his tongue caressed her lips and slowly entered her mouth.

Caleb's kisses were like the man: slow, intense and calm. She placed her arms around his shoulders and closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth of his kisses and the gentle kneading of his hands on her shoulders. So close to the warmth of his body, Miranda could hear the shallowness of his breath, feel the beating of his heart. Minutes later, when they both came up for air, she knew right then that she wanted to do a lot more than kiss this man. “Now that you've heard my story, what about yours?” he asked.

“I'd have to say that climbing Mount Fuji at night was about the craziest thing I've ever done.”

“I almost did that while I was in Tokyo, but I didn't have the time. I passed by Fuji when I took the Shinkansen to Kyoto. How was it?”

“The mountain always looks beautiful from the bullet train. Its white-crusted peak ringed by wispy silver clouds…Being up close is a different story. From bottom to top, Fuji is nothing but a steep mound of rock. I had heard a lot about the mountain but I forgot that it was first and foremost a volcano.”

“You climbed at night. Wasn't it dangerous?”

“It was safer than your skydiving adventure. There were a lot of people climbing the night I went. The trail went back and forth on the mountain so I rarely had any vertical climbs. The one thing I will never forget about being on top of Fuji was the stars. The farther up I climbed, the closer they became. Nearing the top, I felt as though I could reach out my hand and touch them. The quiet beauty of the sunrise brought me to tears. Not to mention I was deliriously exhausted by then. I was a mess by the time I got down. Covered in dirt, dust and ash.”

“You still would have been beautiful.”

Miranda shook her head. “Caleb, I can't…” She started to say something but was cut off by the sound of the phone ringing.

Startled, she drew back and watched as Caleb reached into his pocket and brought out a small flip phone. He looked at her apologetically and answered the phone as it rang again. Miranda sat back and pretended not to listen to the conversation.

“What's her blood pressure? Heart rate? Has her water broken? No. Call me once the water breaks. I'll drop by the hospital on my way home.

“Sorry about that,” he said.

“Not a problem. You should go.”

“We're not finished.”

“Yes, we are.”

“Good night, beautiful. I'll see you tomorrow.”

Before she could say more, he kissed her on the lips and left.

“H
e really likes her, you know.”

Darren looked up from his drafting. He moved to rub his neck and winced at the pain. Six weeks. He didn't know if he'd be able to survive that long. The only bright spot would have been his sister's return, but Caleb Blackfox's presence lingered like a rain cloud over everything. Since he'd been released from the hospital, the man came over to the house every day, sometimes twice a day. Then there was Grace.

As much as he loved looking at the beautiful therapist, she acted more like a drill sergeant than a woman. All he wanted to do was put the moves on her, but a broken leg and her nonstop pushing and prodding didn't allow for much romance.

All of his frustrations rose to the surface and he wanted to bite someone's head off. Preferably it would be Caleb Blackfox's. But as long as the doctor threatened to tell Miranda about his part in their breakup, his hands were tied.

Tossing down his mechanical pencil, he turned toward Kelly. “Shouldn't you be doing your homework or something?”

“I finished it up before dinner.” She walked into the home office and took a seat on the slip-covered sofa he'd inherited from his parents.

“Dr. Caleb seems like a nice guy.”

A muscle in Darren's jaw clenched. Not again. It seemed like everyone in the world had woken up and joined the Caleb Blackfox fan club. Everyone except for him, of course. He didn't care if the man saved lives, volunteered time and donated money to charity. At his core he was a self-centered rich pretty boy who, for the second time, threatened to wreak havoc in his sister's life. Not for the first time, Darren cursed the driver whose inattention had landed him in the hospital. Used to being the one taking care of others, it was depressing that he had to depend on his little sister and the little girl sitting across the room.

“Caleb thinks that he's entitled to have everything he ever wanted, including my sister.”

Kelly sat back and crossed her arms under her nonexistent breasts. On a mental level he knew for a fact that Kelly possessed none of his sister's DNA, but at the moment, the little gesture reminded him so much of Miranda he could have sworn she was his true niece.

“I like him,” she declared. Her eyes were so full of mischief he had a hard time not smiling.

Darren wanted to say something sarcastic, but he bit his tongue and instead picked up his pencil. If he was going to keep his sister from falling for Caleb, he needed as many allies as possible. “Who do you like more, Caleb or your father?”

“My dad, of course.”

“So if you were to choose who Miranda liked more, would it be your dad or Blackfox? I mean isn't it nice having Miranda as a mother?”

Her eyes widened for a second and then slid away. Darren could just imagine the wheels turning inside the girl's head. For a moment his conscience prickled, but he shrugged it away. So he'd just manipulated a child. Not like he'd robbed a bank.

“Well…”

“Miranda and I talk a lot. She's always mentioning how much she enjoyed working with your father. It's not that much of a stretch to take it another step further.”

“You hate Dr. Caleb, don't you? What did he do? Beat you up for lunch money in kindergarten?”

Darren broke the pencil lead at the comment. Although they had never gone toe-to-toe, there had always been a competitive tension between him and Caleb, especially where the opposite sex was concerned. “I just want what's best for my little sister.” He paused. “And if something was to happen and you suddenly became my real niece, I would make sure that Santa Claus deposited some nice presents under your Christmas tree.”

T
he next few days were the longest in his life. Caleb continued to make his rounds at the hospital, kept follow-up appointments with former patients and gotten caught up with required medical-board reading. He'd even called up a former lady friend and met her for dinner. But he was just going through the motions. Suddenly, life lost its color, the weather turned cold and his mood sank. He'd gone to his own physician, and friend, and gotten a full physical and passed with a clean bill of health. But everything still felt wrong. It wasn't exactly a week after Darren's release from the hospital that he could pinpoint what was wrong with him.

He was lovesick.

It was a terrible feeling made worse because he'd sometimes catch a few stolen kisses when he went over to her house to check up on her brother. Now he had a reason to be glad that they were three time zones apart when they broke up because he couldn't have handled being this close to her. Pushing the thoughts to the back of his mind, he concentrated on the problems at hand.

Normally when the Blackfox boys got together after a family meal, the alcohol flowed along with jokes, wagers and boisterous laughter. There had been many a time when they'd all passed out after too many drinks and a night of fight-watching or pool-playing. Tonight, however, Caleb was still on his first bottle of beer and none of his siblings or cousins seemed to be in a festive mood.

After leaving most of his female relatives upstairs along with the kids, Caleb, his uncle and cousins had ensconced themselves around the circular bar in the finished basement. He'd come downstairs with the express purpose of shooting pool, drinking a beer and keeping his mind off his own personal situation. All he wanted was a few moments without being haunted by the vision of Miranda's thickly lashed dark brown eyes and full lips. Instead he somehow walked into the role of mediator on his cousin's behalf, again.

“Look, everyone, the point is—it's her life.” Caleb banged his hand on the bar and made sure to maintain eye contact with his cousins. “You know that I would be the first to do anything legal or illegal to protect Savannah. But she's not in danger and she doesn't need our help.”

“No, she needs psychiatric attention. Caleb, my little sister is about to marry the grandson of the man who almost destroyed our family.”

“The key word is
almost
destroyed our family,” he parried. Stepping close to Thomas, Caleb placed a hand on his shoulder. “You and I have been going to the same church all of our lives and I know you were awake in Bible study, so you have to remember that the sins of the father don't always have to be visited on the son.”

Thomas's face blazed with incredulity. “Marius, are you listening to this?”

Caleb didn't turn to look at his older brother. If he knew Marius, and after living with his older brother for sixteen years during which the man changed his diapers and bought him his first condom, they would agree on the subject of Savannah's impending nuptials and pregnancy.

“I hate to admit it, but Caleb does have a point. Savannah is an adult,” Marius stated calmly.

“It
is
Savannah's life,” Trey, their younger brother, chimed in. “She should be able to make her own mistakes.”

“What?” Thomas stared at them as though he'd never seen them before. “Would you say the same thing if it were your little sister?”

Trey nodded. “Not a word different.”

“Bull.” Thomas frowned. “I was there when you threatened to castrate her first boyfriend.”

A few chuckles filled the silence in the room; but when Caleb stepped forward to stand alongside his younger brother, everyone managed to put on a straight face.

“Look, cuz. We're here to celebrate Uncle James's birthday and Trey's engagement to Sasha. We don't have to agree with Savannah's choice but we're her family. She's going to need our support and so will our parents. They don't like the situation any more than we do.”

“And that's why we have to do something about it.”

Frustrated and fed up with saying the same thing over and over, Caleb stepped toward his inebriated cousin. “What are you going to do, Thomas? Lock Savannah in her room? Your parents tried that and did it work? She's pregnant and Jack Archer is about a hairsbreadth from pressing charges against you and David for assault.”

Thomas winced, but Caleb didn't feel a bit of sympathy. Luckily he'd still been in the parking lot when they'd called him from the emergency room at the hospital. The last thing their family needed was a renewed feud with the Archer family and the ensuing bad publicity.

“I just don't want her to get hurt,” Thomas said honestly.

Famous last words, Caleb thought. He would have rather cut himself than to ever hurt Miranda, but it had happened and he was sure that it would happen again. All he could do was hope that what they built together this time around was strong enough to hold even when they were angry with one another.

Marius finished his drink in one gulp, stood up, and grinned. “Just think about it this way—Jack Archer is marrying into our family. If he screws up, he'll have all of us plus your sister to deal with.”

“Yeah.” Caleb laughed. “It almost makes me feel sorry for him.”

And for the first time since they'd gathered downstairs, the Blackfox boys broke into laughter. Caleb took a seat and pretended interest in the sports wrap-up on the television, but in fact his thoughts returned to Miranda. He couldn't wait to see her again but hated the fact that he couldn't get her alone. It had been three weeks since he'd seen her standing next to Darren's bedside and in that span of time, he could count on his fingers the number of times he'd been able to kiss her. Memories of the brief times he had gotten close enough to touch her, however briefly, made him hotter than a teenager locked in a bathroom with a Victoria's Secret magazine. But the wanting went beyond physical desire. More than ever, he wanted her in his life full time. He wanted to walk into a home instead of an empty house.

A sudden sensation of frustration made his hands curl into fists. He'd been patient, kind, considerate and spent as much time as he could to get to know Kelly. Hell, he'd even been polite to Miranda's older brother who'd taken every opportunity to insult him. Caleb had even gone so far as to say that they were like oil and vinegar. They could be in the same space, but they'd never mix. With his campaign in full gear, how could she resist? Or a better question would be—how did he break down her defenses?

He didn't want to talk to his father or uncles; their advice would be to wait and let her come to him. Blackfox men are the object of female pursuit, not the other way around. They would hold that party line against a mountain of contradictory evidence. He'd witnessed firsthand the number of hoops his father would jump through for every anniversary and Christmas. Dad didn't like dogs, especially small dogs, but he'd given his wife a toy poodle for Christmas. The rumor around the family was that the pedigreed pooch had a plate at the table and slept at the foot of the bed.

Not in the mood to hear another lecture from Marius, he settled on asking the only person left.

Moving away, he tapped his younger brother on the shoulder and motioned him over to a quieter section near the wet bar.

“Trey, I need to ask some advice.”

“Wait.” His younger brother chuckled. “I need a witness and a drink for this moment.”

“Funny. Maybe I should just talk to Uncle Mark.” As Trey took a swig of beer, Caleb dragged a weary hand over his brow.

“Wait, I was just kidding. What happened to your sense of humor?”

“I left it in the emergency room on a respirator.”

“Wow. Okay, what's up?”

“I need to win someone over. And since everyone loves veterinarians, I thought you'd have some insight.”

“Young, old or female? I can help you with the first two, but the last one? Impossible.”

“It must not be since you got Sasha to agree to put you out of your misery.”

“I see you've got jokes. Guess you really need my help, doctor.”

“That's the problem. I thought that if I treated the symptoms, i.e. the leftover mistrust Miranda had from our breakup, that we could pick up where we left off.”

“But that's not happening?”

“No. I see her every day, or I try to. And for every step I take forward, she sidesteps twice. When I try to get her alone, something always manages to get in the way.”

Caleb rubbed his chin in a show of deep thought. “So to kiss her until she forgets her own name, falls head-over-the-hills in love, and can't live without you won't be an option?”

“Not yet. I'm trying.”

“Well, since your human techniques aren't working, let me give you the ultimate in animal wisdom. It's worked for millennia and I'm telling you this because my future wife spilled the secret to me last night.”

“Huh?” Caleb's jaw dropped. “Sasha's giving you hints on how to get women?”

“No. She's writing an article on mating habits in the wild for a woman's magazine's Valentine's Day issue. I got to read the rough draft. Sasha's got a gift for writing that you wouldn't believe.”

Caleb took a swig of the beer in his hand and struggled not to laugh at the enamored expression on his brother's face. “I'm sure. Now what's the secret?”

“First, take them by surprise. Second, never take no for an answer. Third, find out what they really want, and then hold out to give them what they need.”

“That's it?” he questioned. Caleb was sure there had to be more. It couldn't be that simple.

“In a nutshell. I guarantee results.”

“Is that a money-back guarantee?”

Trey's eyes twinkled with mirth as he tapped his beer bottle against Caleb's. “Money back? You still owe me money—a couple of grand—from that last trip to Vegas.”

“Would you rather I wrote you a check or told your future wife about that really flexible show-girl with the long weave that could have been a spokesmodel for
Video Vixen's
magazine?”

“Just go get the girl, damn it.”

Trey's lips clamped tight around the beer bottle, and Caleb threw his head back and roared with laugher. “Will do.”